


Proud Corazón

by moon_opals



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Freeform, Friendship, Gen, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 08:45:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17825585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon_opals/pseuds/moon_opals
Summary: His number one fan is sick with the Flu. What's a superhero to do?





	Proud Corazón

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Deepest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deepest/gifts).



Staying out of Gyro’s way was for the best. He didn’t blame the clause in his modified contract stating he was free to practice in his office as long as a distance of ten feet was maintained. He’d tinker and draft potential designs out of sight. It was what Fenton preferred, or what he convinced himself he preferred.

He occupied the middle restroom stall. Hunched forward, stuck on his latest design tacked to the wall, he contemplated. Safe. Accurate. The Ghost Pepper Toss-up required precise aiming modules. He’d hate to imagine what would happen if he threw a pie filled with ghost pepper filling at an innocent bystander. Scribbled side notes indicated the update’s installation time period and public usage acceptance percentage.

“I don’t know,” he curled a hand under his beak. “I don’t want the target sensor to fail, but maybe this,” he erased and altered a mechanism. “It’ll make it concise, no room for error.” Dismissing his suggestions wasn’t an option this time. He smiled brightly, hope renewed, and leaned back on the toilet seat just to flush it accidentally. He jumped an inch in the air, surprise turning his cheeks pink.

“Excuse me,” someone asked softly. “I’m sorry. Is somewhere here?”

His cheeks darkened. He stood suddenly, scrambling to conceal his work, and to prevent another pen loss down the drain.

“Mr. Crackshell-Cabrera,” they asked a second time. “Is that you?”

“Yes,” he patted his shirt and groaned. “Yes, yes, I will be out in one moment,” another flush for good measure, and he opened the door. He aligned his back with the door’s inside, designs concealed. A lopsided smile did its best to reassure the small, red-capped guest.

“Huey,” uneasiness seeped into his awkward laughter. “Wh-what are you doing here? You know how Dr. Gearloose is about uninvited visitors.”

Huey smiled sheepishly, embarrassed at his rudeness. “He wasn’t in his office when I came. I asked Lil Bulb and Manny where he went, but they were sharing an...um…,” he looked at his feet, “an intimate moment.”

“An intimate moment?” Heat buried itself at the nape of his neck. “Dr. Gearloose warned them about that,” he crossed his arms. “Don’t worry. You weren’t interrupting anything. The mind transference thing melds their brains as one. It isn’t strictly romantic. Your dreams, aspirations, and memories comb through each other.” He glanced at child’s inquisitive expression. “You didn’t interrupt anything,” he finished shortly.

Huey’s uneasiness evaporated, “Oh, that’s good, but I wanted to know,” he sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He waited several seconds to connect his desires and sentences. “I want to see Gizmoduck,” he said. “I know Dr. Gearloose knows where he is. I wanted to speak to him,” he twisted his shirt. “I wanted to thank him,” he added shyly.

“What for,” Fenton asked, forgetting the reason he stood. He kneeled on one knee, staring the duckling in the eye, “I hope you don’t mind my asking. What do you need to ask Gizmoduck?”

Huey drew back a little. Fenton forced the minor wound beneath his curiosity. “I wanted to thank him,” he answered, and he gripped his shirt in a tight knot, “I wanted to thank him for saving me the other day.”

“Thank him,” Fenton repeated, “for saving you?”

Huey nodded. “Yes, he didn’t have to, and it was just so cool,” he sighed dreamily. “It was terrifying, but amazing,” he continued, pushing on his tippy toes, “and it was out of this world.”

“Out of this world,” Fenton gulped.

“Yeah,” he sighed.

Fenton frowned.

* * *

 

He told Huey Gizmoduck wasn’t around and wouldn't be for some time. Hero work was time consuming. This answer appeased the child, who nodded feverently. “It’s a little disappointing, but I can’t expect him to clear his schedule for one person,” he waved goodbye. “Thanks, Fenton!”

For someone as intelligent as he was, Fenton didn’t know what to do after this encounter. Dreaming of the day he’d have a number one fan was one thing, meeting said fan face to face was another. He studied his encounter for several days, promising to never bring it up to Dr. Gearloose. He knew he wouldn’t understand, and worse, he’d be reprimanded for allowing unauthorized access to his lab.

His guilt grew in the passing days. Huey didn’t call. This was a good and bad thing; Fenton wondered what the kid must’ve thought of him. He had said he’d tell Gizmoduck he visited, not that he wanted to see him. Huey shook his head, insisting that was selfish. Fenton didn’t get a chance to say selfish people didn’t contemplate their selfish desires.

“I’m taking a vacation day,” he declared Wednesday morning, five days later. He’d brushed his teeth and was fixing his tie in the mirror, “I mean - no, a vacation day. I’m taking a vacation day.”

Gyro scoffed, “A vacation day? No one has taken a vacation day since…,” he paused, “since Quackfaster was a brunette.”

“Seriously?” Fenton stared aghast at his reflection and quickly shook his head. “What I’m saying is it’s about time someone took a vacation, and I don’t mind being the first.” He straightened his tie for the last time, “Understand?”

His uncharacteristic firmness made Gyro pause, but he made no mention of this. He scoffed a second time, repositioning the phone on his other shoulder. “Fine,” he bit sharply, “as compensation, you’ll work a three hour Saturday, do you hear me? Some testing is in order.”

“Of course,” Fenton said, grabbing his package and heading out of the door. “See you tomorrow, sir!”

* * *

McDuck Manor was larger than he imagined. Swallowing deeply, Fenton stepped out of the cab, gripping his package tightly as he walked up the steps. His ready fist shook in front the smooth door. He closed his eyes. “I won’t turn back,” he whispered. “Huey wants Gizmoduck.”

He’d have to do with what he had. He knocked three time, forgetting the simple doorbell to the right, and stepped back, waiting as a flurry of footsteps bounded to the door. The door swung open. Fenton glanced down and blinked at the Huey clone dressed in blue. “No,” he said aloud. “You’re Dewey.”

“Yep, heya Fenton.” He looked over his shoulder, “You’re here for Huey?”

“Yes, is he here? Or is he busy with something? I can always come back.” He jutted his thumb over his shoulder, “Can call another CheetahCab.”

“No, it isn’t anything like that,” Dewey said. “He’s in quarantine.”

“And it isn’t all that expensive -,” Fenton swung around. “Wait, quarantine?”

Dewey nodded, “Yeah, he caught the flu.”

“The flu?”

“The flu.”

* * *

 

It wasn’t that Fenton doubted Dewey. He believed the child, and followed him upstairs, making sure to keep his attention on his back and not on the numerous oil paintings hanging on the wall. He kept pace up until they made it to their shared room, which was now occupied only by one. 

“Louie and I are using one of the guest rooms,” Dewey opened the door. “But I’m pretty sure he got sucked into another dimension. Webby’s looking for him right now.”

“Isn’t that serious?”

Dewey shrugged, “Either that or he’s in the fridge. He’s a stress eater.”

Fenton didn’t ask why a twelve year old would be stressed. He nodded instead, “I see. I hope he finds what he’s looking for,” and he entered the room. He could taste the illness in the room; thick, stuffy, he passed children’s toys and saw half-fallen posters on the wall. To his left he saw a three set bunk bed; green, blue, and red, and underneath the red comforter was a lump. Fenton correctly assumed he found the person he was looking for, and smiled.

A gentle shift, and weak eyes blinked at him, “Fenton?”

“Hey, kiddo.” He took a seat on the desk chair, “Heard you weren’t feeling well.”

“Yeah,” he coughed. “Caught the flu, and you really shouldn’t be here. The flu is highly contagious.”

“You’re right,” he pointed suspiciously at him. “But I was assigned this mission from Gizmoduck himself!”

“You were?”

Huey basked in the weak light filling his eyes. He raised his head and turned with all his strength to face him. “What was your mission,” his chest rattled.

Fenton climbed up the bed ladder and pulled out his phone. He tapped two apps, and a new screen appeared, air rustled in the background. Huey was wide-eyed, a delighted quack coughed out his mouth. With a grin, Fenton handed him the phone.

“Huey Duck,” Gizmoduck said. “I can’t apologize enough for not being there when you visited Dr. Gearloose’s lab, but know this, you are worthier than you realize!” From the screen, he saw Gizmoduck cross Audubon Bay. “You’re one of the best kids around, true and sincere, and please,” he leaned forward into the camera, “never forget that.”

Fenton faced the window, accepting this was a scene he wasn’t meant to witness fully. He heard Huey’s trembling gasp, and saw the phone extended to him out of the corner of his eye.

“Thank you,” Huey whispered.

“No,” returning his phone to his pocket, Fenton shook his head. “Thank you,” he steadied his breathing, “you’ve done something for me - I mean Gizmoduck, helped put everything in perspective. He knows he wants to make the world a better, safer place, but he didn’t know what it meant for the people in it. He didn’t know he’d inspire them, and that what and how he does it, matters.”

A far away look solidified in his gaze, and to Huey, still snuggled underneath his blanket, somewhat sweaty and a little chilly, it felt like a hand.

“Gizmoduck is supposed to save people’s hearts,” Fenton murmured. “Saving the day is important, but I - I mean,  _ he _ can’t help but wonder what good is it if he can’t save the hearts of the people he’s saving?”

“I did that,” he quacked.

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “You’re a special kid,” he sniffed, “thanks, Huey.”

There was more he wanted to say, much more, but a concerned uncle carrying a tray of warm soup and TamaFlu disrupted their conversation.

“No, Mr. Duck,” Fenton offered. “I can do it, promise!”

Donald was skeptical, “Are you sure?” Carefully, he pulled the bowl out of reach, “I don’t want any funny business going on, or you getting sick too.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he grinned. “It’s the least I can do for Gizmoduck’s biggest fan.”

It didn’t take much to convince Donald. Huey’s silent plea couldn’t be denied in his condition, and Fenton had proven himself capable of protecting children during The Shadow War.

Fenton didn’t mind spending his afternoon with a sick child, spooning soup into his mouth as he stood on his bed ladder. Huey’s joyous little hums warmed his chest and wiped away all doubt in his mind. There was something kind and beautiful, something worthy about this cause, about nurturing this child’s talents and flaws. When the last of the soup was consumed and Fenton administered his medicine properly, there was so much more to stay, but he knew the time wasn’t ripe.

Huey’s excitement depleted his strength. He fell asleep as soon as he swallowed his water, quietly thanking Fenton for his visit. Fenton watched his chest rise and fall, and heard sweet, dreamy murmurs as he curled towards the wall. He climbed down the ladder, tiptoed out of the room, and when he turned around, he bumped into Donald.

“Donald,” he squeaked.

“Fenton.”

Arms crossed, the older fowl sighed and grabbed the dishes, “Thanks, he needed that.” Fenton met his steps as they descended the staircase, and he disappeared around a corner to the kitchen as Fenton went to the door. Sweet breezes poured into his lungs, and sparrows flew free.

He opened his mouth, phrase hungry on his tongue, and closed it with a sharp snap.

“It isn’t a long walk,” he calculated, down the steep slope and curves. “A great data collection for the people’s sake!”

**Author's Note:**

> This was way more fun than I thought! I really hope we get more Fenton and Huey interaction later in the show.


End file.
